Democrats React to Platform Controversy

Al Franken on Jerusalem and Democratic Party: 'It was silly not to include it'

Democratic lawmakers expressed confusion Wednesday evening over their party’s decision to omit several key pro-Israel passages from the Democratic platform, including explicit support for Jerusalem remaining the Jewish state’s capital city.

"It was silly not to include it," Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) told the Washington Free Beacon Wednesday evening, during an event meant to honor Center for American Progress founder John Podesta, a former Clinton administration official.

Franken’s sentiments were echoed by Rep. Ted Deutch (D., Fla.), who praised the party for deciding to add the Jerusalem language back into the party’s platform following more than a day of criticism from across the pro-Israel spectrum.

"The language was added back in now, the language is corrected," Deutch told the Free Beacon during the CAP event. The platform is now "correct and I’m proud of it."

Deutch, however, declined to comment on a fight that ensued on the convention floor as party leaders reinserted language from the 2008 platform into the 2012 platform.

"I’ve not seen it," he said, expressing optimism that the platform would be ratified in full.

"They’ll be proud to vote for the platform," he added.

Convention attendees could be heard on the floor this evening booing a vote to restore the Jerusalem language, as well as language with the word God in it. The response was so strong, the convention was forced to take three separate votes.

Adam KredoEmail Adam | Full Bio | RSSAdam Kredo is senior writer for the Washington Free Beacon. Formerly an award-winning political reporter for the Washington Jewish Week, where he frequently broke national news, Kredo’s work has been featured in outlets such as the Jerusalem Post, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and Politico, among others. He lives in Maryland with his comic books. His Twitter handle is @Kredo0. His email address is kredo@freebeacon.com.